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New York man charged with distribution and receipt of child pornography, obstruction of justice

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned an eight-count indictment charging an upstate New York man with the distribution and receipt of child pornography, and obstruction of justice. The charges are the result of an investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Chad Salvatore, 38, of Alden, N.Y., is charged in the first five counts of the indictment with distributing child pornography on five separate occasions between Dec. 2, 2010, and Dec. 15, 2010. The next two counts of the indictment charge the defendant with receipt of child pornography between June 1, 2010 and July 11, 2010. Finally, the indictment charges the defendant with obstruction of justice for his intentional destruction of a digital media storage device, believed to have contained child pornography. Due to the defendant's use of his residence to commit these crimes, the government has moved to forfeit the defendant's interest in his residence. The defendant has been in custody since his arrest in December 2010.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, in which the government is moving to forfeit the defendant's residence, located at 12405 Clinton St., in Alden. Due to the defendant's prior conviction under the New York Penal Law for sodomy in the 1st degree, the maximum penalty for the distribution and receipt of child pornography charges is a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, per charge. The obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.

This investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango.

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